Owners Representative

published on October 13th, 2017 in ,

PDF available for download here  Owners Representative

What role does an Owner’s Representative play in the design and construction of a building/facility…and what does he/she do?

Good question!

Many end-users and stakeholders know what they need to have built to meet their needs, but lack the expertise in technical knowledge and administration resources to communicate these needs to the architects, engineers and constructors.  An Owner’s Representative is essentially an extension of the owner’s staff managing the day to day operations of a project, acting as a single point of contact between designers, contractors and the owner.  The Owner’s Representative aligns the project team with the owner’s priorities, and translates the course of the project design. With the owner’s representative acting as the owner’s “eyes and ears” on the project, the owner’s time is freed to concentrate on their core day to day business.

  • Analysing constructability
  • Advise on construction delivery methods
  • Advise on forms of contract
  • Monitoring schedules
  • Monitoring costs – both construction and soft costs
  • Cash flow analysis
  • Progress reporting on both design and construction
  • Issue tracking and resolution
  • Procurement oversight
  • Bid evaluation and recommendation
  • Consultant selection
  • Contractor selection
  • Construction and design meeting attendance
  • Progress billing oversight
  • Changes in the work oversight
  • Documentation completeness and adequacy
  • Preparing project execution plans
  • Evaluating and informing upon risk
  • Project closeout and deliver rectification
  • Assist in commissioning, project closeout, substantial completion and release of holdbacks

 

What is the difference between Owner’s Representative and a Project Manager?

Another good question!

It depends on who you speak to, but essentially “Project Manager” and “Owner’s Representative” are interchangeable.  Project Manager sometimes includes the role of doer, whereas the Owner’s Representative is primarily an assistance role.

Recent and ongoing projects on which A.W. Hooker Associates have contributed in this role include:

  • Oetker Pizza Manufacturing Plant – London, Ontario
  • Therapure Plasma Proteins Facility – Mississauga, Ontario
  • Emblem Growing Facility – Paris, Ontario

 

Malcolm Yates, CET, PQS
Senior Partner
A.W. Hooker Associates Ltd.